KYIV, UKRAINE — Despite the resumption of grain shipments from Ukraine’s Black Sea ports, the country’s grain exports are down 46% compared to the same time last year, Reuters reported.

Through the 2022-23 marketing year, which began July 1, Ukraine has exported 2.65 million tonnes, according to the agricultural ministry, including 1.75 million tonnes of corn, 658,000 tonnes of wheat and 226,000 tonnes of barley.

A blockade by the Russian navy of Ukraine’s Black Sea ports prevented grain from being shipped from the start of the war on Feb. 24 through the end of July. The countries on July 22 agreed, in a deal brokered by the United Nations and Turkey, to allow grain shipments to resume through the Black Sea ports.

Ukraine’s grain exports in 2021-22 increased 8% even though the Black Sea ports were closed for the last four months of the marketing year. Grain shipments reached 48.5 million tonnes as Ukraine increased the pace of exports prior to the war, Reuters said.

Meanwhile, grain production in Ukraine in 2022-23 is expected to decline by 58%, from 86 million tonnes to 50 million tonnes, due to lower grain yields and a loss of land to Russian forces, the government said.